


Letters from Jock Steele

by Verlaine



Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Epistolary, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-11 09:57:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19926208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verlaine/pseuds/Verlaine
Summary: There's more to Jock than dimestore novels.





	1. Chapter 1

Dear Dr. Jackson,

Please find enclosed with this letter a complimentary copy of my memoir of your life, _From Slave to Surgeon_. I think it's going to be a great success. The renowned Negro author and speaker, Mr. Frederick Douglass, commented favorably on it and extends an invitation to visit with him if you ever come back east.

When you first told me your story, you mentioned that the men who tried to hang you said there would never be a darky doctor. I consider it my honor to know the man who proved them wrong.

Please give my regards to the lovely Mrs. Jackson.

I remain, in friendship,

Jock Steele


	2. Chapter 2

Dear Reverend Sanchez,

I hope this letter finds you well. It took me a while to find those books you mentioned in your last letter, but I finally managed to track them down in a bookstore near Harvard. I'm shipping them by separate parcel, and they should arrive soon.

I took a peek in a couple of them, and have to say I'm glad I'm a simple man whose taste in reading is straightforward. That Kierkegaard feller makes no sense at all, if you'll pardon me saying so. I figure it's just as well I can't read whatever language Mr. Hegel is writing in.

Sending my best regards,

Jock Steele


	3. Chapter 3

Dear Vin,

Good news! I showed a few samples of your poetry to friends at the New York Literary Society and got some real good responses to them. I'm not much for poetry myself, but it seems people who are think you've got real talent.

Here's what I propose. I'll be heading out your way again next month, and then we'll sit down together. You recite some more of those poems to me, and I'll write them down. We get enough for a small volume, and I think my publisher will go for it. It won't be a big money-maker—poetry doesn't sell as well as stories of the Wild West, you know—but it would be a shame if folks back east didn't get a chance to read some genuine cowboy poetry.

Your partner in writing,

Jock Steele


	4. Chapter 4

Dear Mr. Standish,

I'm sorry to say my publisher has decided not to go ahead with your proposal for a book on gambling and card sharking. While it's true that poker and other card games are pretty popular, the publisher feels a book giving such explicit directions on how to cheat "would spoil the gentlemanly aspect of the games, and lead players to suspect the honesty of their fellow card enthusiasts".

Personally, I think it's a great idea, and I've learned quite a few things already. But the publisher may be right—I don't think I'll be sitting down for a friendly game with you any time soon!

Regretfully yours,

Jock Steele


	5. Chapter 5

Dear Sheriff Dunne,

Enclosed is the latest set of western adventures from my publisher, hot off the press. You'll note that I included _Bat Masterson and the Cut-Throats of Alkali Gulch_ , and _John Wesley Hardin's Revenge_. You'll enjoy those, kid, I guarantee! I don't have any new books out at this time, since I've been tending to other business, but I hope to finish _Lawmen of the Painted Desert_ before the next deadline.

I'll be including some of the stories you've told me about your fellow regulators, with their identities carefully concealed, of course! Don’t want to get either of us in trouble with Mr. Larabee, do we?

Enjoy your reading!

Jock Steele


	6. Chapter 6

Dear Mr. Wilmington,

Enclosed is your bank draft for five hundred dollars. Your book of short stories, _Romantic Tales of the Wild West_ , is selling like hotcakes, and I've got the okay for a second printing. I bet people would be surprised at how big the market is for stories about gentlemen's escapades with the fair sex. I've even heard rumors that some ladies have been buying your book—probably for inspiration.

I look forward to receiving your manuscript for _Romantic Tales from South of the Border_. If it does as well as your first book, you and I are going to make a mint.

Yours in success,

Jock Steele


	7. Chapter 7

Dear Mrs. Larabee,

I'm writing to you to extend my condolences on the loss of your father-in-law, Judge Travis. I always found the judge a fair man, though some might call his rulings harsh. Out on the frontier, I imagine there isn't much choice. 

It was Judge Travis who introduced me to all of you, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to meet so many fine people, and learn more about the ways of the west. You've all helped to open my eyes to a different world, and helped me to grow as a writer, and a man.

Please give my regards to Mr. Larabee.

With deepest sympathy,

Jock Steele


End file.
